The Aston Villa boss goes head to head with Arsenal in the FA Cup final today.

And if he does guide his underdogs to victory, he knows the 'Wenger Out' brigade will be back out in force.

Victory in the final this time last year gave the Frenchman breathing space after nine years without a trophy.

The Gunners' boss is desperate for a repeat but Sherwood says there's no way Wenger should be dodging bullets after over 1,000 games in charge and with three league titles and four FA Cups to his name.

“He's someone I admire greatly. He always sticks to his guns and never changes the way he plays”

Arsene Wenger

"You can criticise Tim Sherwood all you want, but I don't think anyone should be criticising Arsene."

Since stepping into the managerial breach he's been increasingly irritated by pundits who have never been a boss who lay into men who have taken the job on.

"They're entitled to their opinion. They get paid to do their job. I've been one of those pundits but now I'm on the other side," Sherwoood added.

"Sometimes they should be a little bit careful what they say. They can do what they want, they get paid for it.

"He's someone I admire greatly. He always sticks to his guns and never changes the way he plays.

"As much as people try to tell him how he's doing it wrong he's always believed that it's the way to go and I admire him for that."

"It doesn't drive me mad if someone has been in that situation. When they claim to be the expert and they've never stepped into that technical area, they don't know what it's like. It's impossible for them to know.

"You have got to be careful what you wish for as a fan. For me, Arsene has done a tremendous job."